Brian Allen was the only Michigan State player selected to participate in a showcase game this winter for NFL hopefuls.

The center is also the only Spartan invited to the NFL combine.

Allen is among the 326 participants listed for the 2018 NFL combine, which will take place Feb. 27 to March 5 in Indianapolis. He started for the East squad in the East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 20 in St. Petersburg, Fla.

With Allen as the lone selection, it represents the fewest number of players Michigan State has had invited to the NFL combine during coach Mark Dantonio's 11 seasons. The previous low was two in 2010 and the Spartans sent three last year in linebacker Riley Bullough, defensive lineman Malik McDowell and safety Montae Nicholson.

Michigan State finished 10-3 in a resurgent 2017 season with a small senior class. The Spartans are slated to return 19 of 22 starters and Allen was the only senior starter on offense.

A former four-star prospect from Hinsdale Central High School in Illinois, Allen followed his older brother, Jack, to Michigan State by signing with the 2014 class. He was a three-year starter for the Spartans who played center and both guard positions and was named a team co-captain as a senior.

Allen, 6-foot-1 and 300 pounds, started the final 28 games of his career and was a second team All-Big Ten selection by both the coaches and media in 2017.

Lance Zierlein, a draft analyst for NFL.com, projects Allen as a potential sixth- or seventh-round draft pick, or to sign as a free agent. He wrote that Allen's strengths include his physicality and core power and his weaknesses are centered on below-average overall athleticism and lack of length.

"Allen's toughness and strength at the point of attack will endear him to offensive line coaches, but his physical limitations and likely 'center-only' designation could hurt his draft standing," Zierlein wrote. "Allen is a grinder who needs to find a team with a running game that fits his makeup. Allen's power and ability to generate some movement in the running game give him a good shot of making a roster and sticking with a club."

Michigan State has had at least one player selected every year since the common NFL draft began in 1967. Allen is listed as the No. 9 center available in the draft by ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr.

Jack Allen was also selected to participate in the NFL combine but went undrafted in 2016 and signed with the New Orleans Saints as a free agent. He has yet to appear in a regular season game.